Build educational center for 500 children in Nepal

Dear Himalayanlife family, friends and supporters,

The construction of the first building – a 3-classroom-pod – has been completed. This includes 

• pouring the foundation
• framing the building with locally produced lumber
• exterior cladding of the building with corrugated metal sheets
• interior cladding with drywall
• bracing of the building for earthquake resistance
• installing of a metal roof

Some of the challenges along the way so far:

• the 250 bags of cement for the foundation were trucked in from Kathmandu with 4x4 trucks, and hand-carried across the 300 ft long suspension bridge to the construction site, as we do not have road access
• likewise has all the wood for construction been hand-carried from the local jungles ( up to 20 miles away) to the site, where we have installed a simple lumber mill in order to mill the lumber to size.
• The generous size of classrooms requires fairly heavy-sized beams to carry the roof. Engineered beams (glulam) have been produced locally. We believe that this is the first time, that such glulam beams have been produced and applied in Nepal.

The next steps will be the construction of more classrooms (pod #2) and a sports field. 

We look forward to keeping you posted on the progress of our expansion in the Yangri valley.

From all of us at Himalayanlife, a very BIG thank you!